Hoe.



R. E. WRIGHT.

HOE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 18, 1914.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

Witnesses Attorneys THE NORRIS PETERS -LITHO., WASHING rON. D c.

pnrlnn saw I erosion,

ROBERT E. WRIGHT, OF EAST POINT, GEORGIA.

HOE.

masses.

Application filed April 18, 1914. Serial No. 832,874.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, ROBERT E. WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Point, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Hoe, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention appertains to hoes or kindred soil working implements, and aims to provide a novel and improved implement of that nature.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a hoe blade and shank which may be stamped or fashioned from a blank of sheet metal, and which will be of such construotion as to withstand or resist the strains to which the blade is subjected in use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a unique means for fastening the blade to the end of the handle.

It is also within the scope of the present invention to provide a device of the character specified, which will be comparatively simple, substantial and inexpensive in construction, and which will be convenient, practical, serviceable and efficient in its use.

With the foregoing and other objects 1n view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described blade and its shank.

1n carrying out the present invention, there is provided a blade 1, of usual shape, and which is stamped or fashioned from sheet metal having the requisite inherent strength or stifl'ness. The blade 1 is provided with an integral shank 2 projecting from its upper edge intermediate its ends, the shank 2 being bent angularly to the rear of the blade 1, and being concaved transversely.

The sides 3 of the shank 2 are turned upwardly and preferably terminate short of the upper edge of the blade 1, there being strengthening webs 4: between the forward ends of the sides 3 and the upper edge of the blade 1. The joint between the blade 1 and its shank 2, is strengthened by striking out or drawing that portion of the blade 1 directly below the shank 2, as at 5, whereby the median portion of the shank 2 will project beyond the upper edge of the blade 1, to the forwardly or outwardly bulged por tion 5, while the webs f extend to the upper edges of the blade 1 at the opposite sides of the shank 2, so that the bulged or pressed portion 5 will brace the shank 2 in a simple and efiective manner, to prevent the shank and blade from bending or flexing relative to each other, under ordinary working conditions. Particular attention is directed to the fact that the bulged portion 5 causes the corresponding end of the shank to project beyond the plane of the blade, and that the bulged portion forms a diagonal or oblique brace between the body of the blade and the corresponding end of the shank.

The shank 2 which is of arcuate or curved cross section, tapers from the blade to the rear or free end of the shank, as most clearly seen in Fig. 3, and the rear or free end of the shank 2 is provided with an outturned flange or lip 6. The flange or lip 6 also serves to strengthen or reinforce the shank 2, to hold the same in shape.

The handle 8, which may be of the ordinary wooden or other type, has its lower or forward end slightly enlarged and tapered inwardly or upwardly, as at 9. The means for attaching the lower or forward tapered end of the handle 8 to the shank 2 of the blade 1, comprises a tapered sleeve 7 which is disposed over the shank 2, and which embraces the end 9 of the handle and the shank. The shank 2 and sleeve 7 are tapered similarly, whereby the shank 2 may fit snugly within the bottom portion of the sleeve, and whereby the tapered or frustoconical end of the handle may be received snugly within the shank 2 and sleeve 7. In assembling the handle with the blade, the sleeve 7 may be slid onto the shank 2, the sides 3 of the shank springing together, to permit the sleeve 7 to readily pass over the flange or lip 6, and the handle is then slipped rearwardly through the sleeve 7 until 3 the tapered end 9 of the handle binds Within the sleeve. In this manner, the tapered end 9 of the handle and shank 2 Will be tightly clamped together within the sleeve, it being observed that a rearward pull upon the handle 8, will only tend to increase the clamping action, by tending to draw the tapered portion 9 of the handle farther back within the sleeve 7 The flange or lip .6 serves as a stop for limiting the rearward movement of the sleeve 7. It is preferable to provide the bottoms of the shank 2 and sleeve 7 with registering apertures 10, through which a securing screw 11 may be passed to take into the tapered end 9 of the handle, for holding the parts against separation.

The present hoe may be employed in the usual manner, and will serve its purposes in a thoroughly efficient and desirable manner, it being possible to manufacture the hoe at a minimum expense, and Without sacrificing from ,the efliciency of the hoe, at least, to any appreciable extent.

The peculiar construction of the several parts, are of advantage, for obvious reasons, without further comment being necessary.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A sheet metal hoe blade having an angular transversely concaved shank projecting from its upper edge, the sides of the shank being upturned, that portion of the blade directly below the shank being bulged outward whereby the corresponding end of the shank projects beyond the plane of the blade, the bulged portion forming a brace between the body of the blade and the corresponding end of the shank, and there being webs connecting the forward ends of the sides of the shank and the upper edge of the blade at the sides of the shank.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto al'lixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT E. WRIGHT. Witnesses SELINA lVILLSoN, I. E. SIMrsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

